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1970 NBA Expansion Draft
The 1970 NBA Expansion Draft was the fifth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 11, 1970 before the 1970–71 season, as the league expanded to 17 franchises with the addition of the Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers. Both franchise were founded after the league granted NBA franchises for Buffalo, New York, Cleveland, Ohio, and Portland, Oregon on February 6, 1970. The Braves later underwent several name change and relocation before moving to Los Angeles. They are currently known as the Los Angeles Clippers. In this draft, the Braves, the Cavaliers and the Blazers were allowed to select unprotected players from the existing NBA teams. Each of the existing teams had protected seven players from their roster. After the each round, where each of the expansion teams had selected one player each, the existing teams added another player to their protected list. In the first round, the Braves had the first pick, while the Blazers and the Cavaliers had the second and third pick respectively. In the subsequent rounds, the Braves and Cavaliers exchanged their order of selection, while the Blazers had the second pick throughout the draft. The draft continued until both teams had selected 11 players each, while the existing teams had lost two or three players each. The Buffalo Braves were formed and owned by local businessman Paul Snyder. He hired former Philadelphia 76ers head coach and Coach of the Year Dolph Schayes as the franchise's first head coach. The Braves selected 11 players from the other NBA teams, including six-time All-Star Bailey Howell. However, Howell was immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Bob Kauffman and a future second-round pick. Nine players from the expansion draft joined the Braves for their inaugural season. Kauffman was named to the 1971 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Star. The Cleveland Cavaliers were formed and owned by businessman Nick Mileti. He hired former college basketball coach Bill Fitch as the franchise's first head coach. The Cavaliers selected 11 players from the other NBA teams, including five-time All-Star Don Ohl and one-time All-Star Len Chappell. However, Ohl retired from playing prior to the start of the season and Chappell only played briefly before he was waived. Eight players from the expansion draft joined the Braves for their inaugural season. Butch Beard was the ninth player from the expansion draft to play for the Cavaliers. After one year serving in the military, he started playing with the Cavaliers in the 1971–72 season and was named to the 1972 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's second All-Star, after 1970 first-round pick John Johnson. The Portland Trail Blazers were formed and co-owned by Larry Weinberg, Herman Sarkowsky and Robert Shmertz. They hired former college basketball coach Rolland Todd as the franchise's first head coach. The Blazers selected 11 players from the other NBA teams, including former first overall pick Fred Hetzel and former third pick Larry Siegfried. However, Hetzel was waived without playing a game for the Blazers and Siegfried was immediately traded to the San Diego Rockets in exchange for Jim Barnett. Six players from the expansion draft joined the Blazers for their inaugural season. Key Selections was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers from the San Diego Rockets.]] Notes * Number of years played in the NBA prior to the draft * Career with the expansion franchise that drafted the player * Never played a game for the franchise References ;General * * * ;Specific External links *NBA.com *NBA.com: NBA Draft History NBA Expansion Draft Category:Buffalo Braves Category:Cleveland Cavaliers Category:Portland Trail Blazers Category:National Basketball Association Expansion Draft fr:Draft d'expansion NBA 1970 pl:1970 NBA Expansion Draft